Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE, yesterday, November 24, 2015, became deputy chair of the regional compliance body, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) at its XLII Plenary in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi of Trinidad and Tobago assumed the Chairmanship of the organisation at the meeting and expressed his eagerness to collaborate with Braithwaite Knowles on the leadership of the organisation. At the Opening Ceremony Braithwaite Knowles said “The Turks and Caicos Islands considers it an honour and privilege to be of service to the CFATF for the very first time in this capacity. On behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands and our people, I wish to thank you for the strong vote of confidence in the value of our ability to make a meaningful contribution towards achieving our shared objectives”.

Braithwaite Knowles was unanimously elected at a meeting of the CFATF Ministerial Council in Miami in May 2015 and will take over the reins of leadership as Chairman in November 2016.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President, Je Yoon Shin, attended the opening ceremony and brought remarks on behalf of the Paris based parent organization and urged members of the CFATF to look closely at the recent and ongoing work of that body and noted his “esteem for the CFATF” and its effective work. Some 167 delegates representing the CFATF's 27 member states are attending the conference and have been engaged in private sessions since Sunday, November 22.

The CFATF is the regional offshoot of the FATF, the premier inter-governmental organization that sets the standards for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The CFATF plays a critical role in promoting regional compliance with the FATF Recommendations on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism.

The CFATF comprises 27 countries from South and Central America and the Caribbean, with a total population of approximately 80 million persons. These countries include Jamaica, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Belize and the Cayman Islands. CFATF is responsible for monitoring and evaluating member states in an effort to achieve compliance. TCI would be expected to host the Plenary in November 2016.

Meetings around the Plenary include a meeting of FIUs, Working Groups and other CFATF Committees dealing with governance issues such as budget planning and human resources. Angela Brooks, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions is co-chair of the CFATF’s Human Resources Committee. Insp. Dwayne Baker is co-chair of the CFATF’s Forum for Heads of FIU (Working group on Risks, Trends and Methods).

Accompanying Braithwaite Knowles at the CFATF plenary are Khalila Astwood from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Henry Saunders from the Exchange of Information Unit, Dwayne Baker from the Financial Intelligence Agency and Kenisha Bacchus and Paul Coleman from the Financial Services Commission.

The effectiveness of the legislative and regulatory infrastructure of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ financial services sector will be evaluated by the CFATF in the second quarter of 2017. Braithwaite Knowles said “Work is underway on a National Risk Assessment which requires both public and private sector participation. This is the context in which the Turks and Caicos Islands has assumed the Deputy Chair and in the following year, the Chair of the CFATF. The success of these initiatives will require the participation of both public and private sector stakeholders, as clearly effective implementation of AML/CFT requirements is central to much of the work undertaken by all of the stakeholders in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”